Apply little oil over the brinjal, hold it on thongs and grill it over the flame of the stove till the skin shrinks. (You can also cut the brinjals into big pieces and boil it. But the real taste will come from the grilled brinjals only). Cool it. Remove the skin. Mash it nicely. You can put it in a mixie and grind it coarsely along with coconut. Soak the tamrind in water and take out thick juice or you can use 1 teaspoon tamarind juice. In a kadai, put the oil and when it is hot, add the mustard and when it pops up, add urad dhal and asafetida. Fry till the dhal becomes golden brown. Add chopped onion, green chillies, curry leaves and fry till the onions turn transparent. Now, add the brinjal paste, tamarind juice , turmeric powder and salt. Mix well. Add little water and make the mixture liquid. Cover with a lid and allow to boil. Remove it from stove.
This can be served with idli/dosa.

This curry recipe is demonstrated by Chef Soundararajan in a TV show. With this basic curry, we can prepare number of dishes. For example, if we add cooked dhal, it will become “Dhal Curry”. Add cooked spinach and paneer. It will be “Spicy Palak Paneer”. Add cooked potato pieces and […]